Refrigerated devices are well known and widely utilized to increase the storage life of items to be stored, such as food items. As an example, a refrigerator commonly used in most households in the United States increases the storage life of many foods by maintaining the temperature well below room temperature, thereby slowing the natural ripening and oxidation processes. However, such devices suffer from a number of disadvantages, including complexity, weight and cost.
Moreover, refrigerated devices can be noisy and generate a great amount of heat, which may be undesirable in many circumstances. Furthermore, refrigeration devices are generally not energy efficient, and thus such devices are typically costly to operate and environmentally unfriendly. Furthermore, refrigeration devices may not be appropriate for storing all food items (e.g., apples may lose their taste when cold, bananas may turn black, etc.). Another problem with refrigeration devices is that they may not be appropriate for storing many non-food items (e.g., documents, stamps, coins, etc.) due to moisture problems.
Another type of storage device which has been developed is a vacuum storage device, which operates by creating a vacuum within a storage volume of the device in order to remove oxygen therefrom, and extend the storage life of oxidizable materials. Although such devices obviate some of the disadvantages of refrigeration devices (i.e., the problems associated with storing certain food items in a cold environment and the moisture problems), vacuum devices do not remedy a number of the other problems. Vacuum storage devices are typically even more complex, heavy and costly to produce than refrigeration devices, which is why such vacuum devices are typically used only in industrial settings. These devices are typically large and may pose a safety problem, as it has been known that persons may become trapped within such devices, and be injured or killed because of the vacuum created therein.
Furthermore, the vacuum pumps used with vacuum storage devices can be noisy and are generally not energy efficient, thereby making vacuum storage devices costly to operate and environmentally unfriendly. Moreover, vacuum storage devices suffer from a number of additional disadvantages. In addition to requiring a costly vacuum pump, the storage volume itself is also costly. This is true because, due to the vacuum created, a structurally heavy storage volume is required so as to inhibit implosion or collapsing thereof due to the vacuum formed therein. Moreover, a complex and expensive sealing means is required so that the storage volume can hold a vacuum. Moreover, despite the precautions taken, there is a very real possibility that implosion may occur and/or that a vacuum may not be held.
Yet another type of storage device which has been developed is an inert gas pumping system. In these devices, an inert gas environment is artificially maintained within a storage volume by pumping an inert gas, such as nitrogen, into the storage volume, thereby displacing the normal atmospheric content (including oxygen) to maintain and prolong the storage life of oxidizable items stored therein. However, these devices are typically even more costly and complex than refrigeration and vacuum systems, and are therefore generally used only to store rare documents, stamps, coins, and/or other valuable materials. A further disadvantage of these types of systems is that it is necessary to provide, and to replace on a regular basis, cylinders of inert gas, which can be costly and burdensome, and which renders such devices appropriate only for large-scale industrial use (as opposed to home use).
What is desired, therefore, is a storage device for oxidizable materials which controls the gaseous content of a storage volume of the device in order to prolong storage life, to allow storage of currently difficult-to-store materials, to allow storage of non-refrigeratable foods and to inhibit the ripening and/or deterioration of certain foods without adversely affecting flavor, which is relatively simple in design, lightweight and inexpensive to produce, which operates quietly and does not generate a great amount of heat, which is appropriate for storing certain oxidizable food items and non-food items, which is energy efficient and therefore relatively inexpensive to operate and environmentally friendly, which does not risk implosion, and which does not require servicing and/or the replacement of components on a regular basis.